Water back for many homes after burst pipe fixed

This pipe on Alleyn Road in Dulwich has left residents without water for days

Many people have told the BBC they are still without water despite Thames Water saying it has fixed a burst pipe to restore supply "to the majority of homes" in south London.

Thousands of residents in Crystal Palace, Forest Hill, Sydenham, West Norwood and Streatham were affected by Tuesday evening's outage.

On Friday, locals told BBC London it had been "absolutely abysmal" and the communication from Thames Water had been "woeful".

"We're sorry to customers in the Crystal Palace area who have no water or lower pressure than normal due to a burst pipe," it said in a statement.

The company added that it was "working hard to flush and do our final checks to fully restore supplies to customers".

Bottled water is being handed out to residents

Seven schools and three care homes have been affected by the leak in the SE19, SE20, SE23, SE26, SE27 and SW16 postcodes .

A bottled water facility at Sainsbury's Southend Lane had to be closed on Thursday due to a "security incident" but reopened on Friday morning.

Christopher, who had come from Forest Hill to pick up bottled water, said: "The real issue is that the supply of water they're providing is a 10 minute drive away.

"If you're fortunate to have a car, it's great. I've actually just picked up my car for the garage this morning to come down to pick up lots of water for me and the neighbours: people with kids, elderly people.

"It's absolutely shocking."

Christopher is collecting water for his neighbours

On Friday, Thames Water said it would challenge the water regulator Ofwat's ruling to limit price rises to 35% over the next five years as this "does not appropriately support the investment and improvement that is required for Thames Water to deliver for its customers, communities and the environment".

That came just two days after bosses admitted it will not complete more than 100 environmental schemes funded by customers, prompting an investigation by Ofwat.

Thames Water loses 24% of the water it supplies in leaks.